CSI: Primed
by shelleybell
Summary: A prize case goes awry for Catherine and Sara when revenge on Brass could cost them their lives.
1. Chapter 1

CSI- Primed.

Chapter 1.

Sundays are always meant to be a day of relaxation but not in Vegas and certainly never for the Las Vegas Crime Lab.

Gil Grissom walked down the hallway of the lab to meet up with Brass to discuss the latest case they were embroiled in, when he literally bumped into Catherine and Sara. "Whoa, whats the rush?!" Grissom said as he quickly composed himself with the brief but sexually charged body clash with his wife, Sara. Catherine noticed the tension or be it the glint in Grissoms eyes and smirked a suggestive smile to Grissom, then replied, "Well before you nearly trampled on us, me and your beloved here have caught ourselves a double homicide in the Vegas mountains...Millionaires Mountain", Catherine was somewhat excited.

Grissom looked confused, and raised a questioning eyebrow. "Millionaires Mountain is a new housing development in the Vegas mountains, perfectly situated mansions built into the mountain itself, luxury at its finest. Or at least thats what the tagline says, Grissom the cheapest house is $25 million dollars..." said Sara, trying to fill in her clueless husband. "And this is whats got you both in a hurry-luxury houses?", Catherine was quick to defend them both, " no the double homicide is what excited us of course. A house is a house Gil, with a pool, games room, home cinema with 4 screens, shooting ranges, golf ranges, marble floors, solid gold fittings, you know just a house". As the pair sloped off Grissom shouted to Sara, "you will remember to come home dear?", Sara turned and smiled, " Don't worry Gilbert, your all the millions i want" then winked as she headed off to the crime scene with Catherine.

Grissom carried on down the hall, when Greg stopped him, " hey Grissom, how come Sara & Catherine get the hottest case of like the decade, millionaires mountain man! dude that aint fair, the home entertainment systems in those mansions are way beyond cool and they get a double homicde to work, i got a robbery at a store-my 3rd in a fornight might i add". With a frown Grissom answered the CSI level 1, " Greg you're forgetting i don't hand out the assignments anymore, Nick does, i suggest you speak to him and one more point-i am not a dude". Greg looked sheepishly " ah dude, i mean Grissom, i forgot you aint he boss man no more", as Grissom began on his journey again he said, " Greg, ask yourself why Nick has put you robberies lately, why he's had Warrick mentoring you heavily for the last month, why he's given you the highest case load. How much longer do you think you can stay a Csi level 2...dude?", with that Grissom disappeared into Brass's office. "He called me dude. Csi level 2...", greg pondered those those as he stalked off to Nicks office.

The sun was blazing on a hot august afternoon in Vegas, as Catherine and Sara made their way to Millionaires Mountain. "Thankgod for air conditioning huh, you know it's 98 degees outthere, and about 198 degrees back in the lab when we clashed with Grissom". Sara blushed immediatley, " Ha, don't tell me you don't realise you two have some serious sexual tension going on, you know i notice the eye sex all the time", Catherine was teasing big time. "I, er, eye sex? we don't do that...do we?...we do don't we?" Sara looked at Catherine, "Not all the time but yeah you do! Hey you're still all loved up, honey trust me keep it as long as you can, besides it's kinda nice to see happiness,especially with what we see everyday".

Staring out he window of the Denali, Sara asked, "Catherine, you know when i was under that car and you guys were looking for me, what was it like? i mean for you guys?". Catherine looked at Sara for a moment, slightly confused as to where that question had come from. " Well before i answer that, do you wanna tell me why you asked it, i mean we were talking eye sex with Grissom and then that, Sara that happend nearly two years ago...". Sara continued to stare out the window, Catherine started to look slightly concerned as she prompted Sara, "Sara?". Sara responded " I had a letter from Natalie yesterday, from the pysch ward. She said no one did much in the worrying department", Sara looked at Catherine.

In a state of disbelief, Catherine smiled warmly, and pulled the Denali to a stop at the side of the road, "Sara, when we learned that Natalie had taken you and put you under that car, everyone of us were worried and we all worked round the clock to find you, none of us would have stopped til we got you back and when we did, you were close to death, sweetie we all care about you, probably more than you think. We love you Sara, all of us, even Hodges in his own way".

Catherine tried to figure out what the pained look on Sara's face was saying but was getting mixed messages, only Sara knew what this was all about and Catherine wasn't sure whether to push or leave the subject at that. She decided to leave it for the moment and wait for Sara to open up again. For a woman as private and strong as Sara, for her to open up at all to her was an achievement in its self, Catherine knew that, although a little surprised that Sara would open up to her, but at the same time glad she had. The pair would never admit to it but the women did actually care alot about eacother.

Catherine pulled back onto the road, " lets go see some of these mansions then eh", Sara glanced at Catherine " Yeah lets, Catherine thanks, and er, don't tell Grissom i asked". Catherine still concerned for her colleague replied " Our secret, i'm here, you know that", Sara smiled back "yeah i do". As the Denali turned the corner, the Csi's headed onto Milionaires Moutain.

"Which number is it? catherine asked, checking the paperwork, Sara replied "13. Hmm unlucky for some". As they pulled up the drive Catherine said " I don't call that unlucky". Getting out the Denali, the pair stood and looked at the mansion, this one was one of the smaller ones but was still ten times the size of their modest abodes. "ok lets go nosey, and work the homicde" Catherine said. With that they walked up to the main entrance.

" Hey Greggo, how you getting on with that robbery case man?" Nick Stokes, the night shift supervisor stepped out of his office. "Well Nick, thats going just fine, i was coming to see you about the case our two girls have...how come i didn't get to go man, you know that would have been a good case for me" Greg asked. Nick smiled in response, " Greg there's two weeks left til the end of the month and at that time i intend to assess you for your Level 2 Csi, i want you pass it man, but i can't have you glory chasing with high profile cases like the one i gave Sara & Catherine, you don't need it".

"The end of the month, you'll promote me at the end of the month-level 2", Greg re-iterated, "End of the month and i will assess you Greg, don't screw it up", Nick smiled again, knowing deep down the young Csi would do him proud. " Catch you later", Nick said as he walked off. Greg watched him walk off and turned to find Warrick leaning on the door frame waiting for him. "You ready to get going now you've had your moan?" Warrick teased Greg, "I don't know what you mean Warrick, don't tell me you wouldn't like to be up there with Catherine?", Greg teased back and winked at Warrick. "You know Gregg, you may not make it to level 2. Now can we please go"...Warrick motioned him to start walking, as Greg did he said " I wonder what Sara's doing now?", Warrick answered, "Greg...shut up".

Catherine and Sara stood in the spacious lobby of the mansion. " Now this what i call i an entrance. So where's the crime and more to the point where's the cops?" Catherine stated, " Hey Catherine, we never saw any patrol cars parked out front, nothing, and why do i suddenly get a weird feeling about this" Sara said as she scanned the part of the house for any sign of life.

" You know what, how about we take a look around and call it in back at the lab", Catherine beagn to walk towards the staircase. "Hey Catherine we're not suppose to go anywhere unless we have a police presence at the crime scene, you know that, for our own safety and all", Sara looked at the older Csi. " Sara, call it in, i'm only going up stairs", with that remark Catherine was half way up the stairs when a voice, which seemed to echo around the whole house, said " Good morning CSi's, so glad you could join in the fun". Sara automatically looked up to see where the voice came from. " Catherine i think we should go back outside...now!", Sara waited as Catherine made her way back down the stairs, " I couldn't agree more". With that the door slammed shut, Catherine and Sara ran towards the door and tried the handle, " It's locked" Sara said, Catherine replied " It's dead bolted, someone doesn't want us to leave". The voice spoke again, " Too right i don't want you leave. We're gonna have some fun- of the deadly kind". At that moment metal shutters slammed down over every window, entrance & exit from the inside, plunging the place into darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2.

Catherine pulled out her cell phone and speed dialled the lab, " I can't get a signal. Sara try yours". Sara tried her cell too but again no signal. " Ok lets just put this into context here, we're in a house-a mansion, that should have 2 dead bodies in it, cops swarming all over and us processing the place. Instead we have a big empty mansion with no cops, as yet we haven't had chance to find any bodies and the entire place just went into lock down, we have no way of contacting the outside world or them us and some jerk is playing mind games". Catherine shone her torch in sara's face, " Well thankyou for the rundown of stating the obvious but i had noticed all that. We need to find a way outta here." Sara shone her torch back at Catherine, " I'm stating the obvious! I know we have to find a way out of here, would you care to suggest how since all the exits are sealed off!". At that point the lights came on, the two Csi's looked around. " You'd think two intelligent women like yourselves would know how to switch on the lights". Catherine and Sara looked at eachother, "Well you didn't think of either" said Sara. Catherine took out her gun and Sara copied, " So what exactly are you playing at here? I'm starting to lose patience and i hate being messed about!" Catherine shouted out, not entirely sure where she was meant to be talking.

The voice boomed out again, bouncing off the walls. " Catherine Willows, just as sassy as i expected you to be. The one that likes male attention so very much but couldn't keep Eddie outta the gutter could you nor could you keep your father alive, how heartbreaking that must have been for you, seeing him gunned down like that, dying in your arms." Sara looked at Catherine, who was in a stated of shock an confusion. Whoever this guy was, why did he know so much about Catherines personal life. " Oh i don't believe this, we're in this situation because of her personal life!" Sara snapped. "What the hell's that suppose to mean!" Catherine snapped back, "Well you do have a habit of dragging our team into your personal conflictions, and this just takes the biscuit!" Sara replied. Catherine looked as though she was about to strike the younger Csi, " Sara i don't think now is the time to start an argument, and where the hell do you get off talking to me like that", Sara sniped, " Hit a nerve?", Catherine was about to snap back when the voice spoke again, " As much as i would like to see a catfight, i thought now would be a good time to tell you that each and every room in this house is rigged to a high explosive device and any attempt to leave the place via any means will break the connection and trip the explosives, kinda like fairy lights- when one goes out they all go out. I think i'm going to enjoy this ladies".

Catherine and Sara stood stock still and glared at eachother, Sara was the first to break the silence, " Okay, so er, what do you make of that then?", Catherine had no idea, except to say, " We're in trouble".

Back at the lab Brass was talking to Grissom when his phone rang. " Brass", "Put your phone on speaker Detective Brass, and don't argue, unless you want me to kill Csi's Willows & Sidle". Grissom sawthe grave look on Jim's face, " Jim?". Brass Told Grissom to listen to the phone call. " Hello gentlemen, i have your Csi's at my mansion with no way of escape, the place is rigged with enough explosive to take out half the mountain side and beyond. Any attempt to get in or out of the building will result in a forfiet for your girls. If they make more than 3 mistakes in the little game i'm about to begin with them, the explosives will triggered and your girls will have no more than 3 seconds before the big boom happens. Exciting huh, ciao". With that the line went dead. Grissom looked at Brass, "I'll call everyone in".

Back at the mansion Catherine and Sara were still stood in the lobby. " Hey girls! Let the games begin!", the voice boomed. It was then the two Csi's turned towards the dining area, the door began to open and a clawing noice was heard...then a low roar. " Something tells me thats not a house cat, it didn't mi-aow" Sara said to Catherine as the pair backed away from the door, it was then a large black paw curled around the bottom of the door. Catherine and Sara stood motionless, "Oh my god" Catherine said.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3.

The door creeped open slowly as bit by bit more of the animal appeared. With a gulp Sara spoke, "It's a black Panther. You think it's hungry?", with a quick glance back at the door, Catherine said " I hope not, besides there's not much to go at, look at us" Catherine let out a nervous chuckle as the panther was now in full view of them. It began to circle them slowly, not sure what to make of them. "So what do you wanna do, if we run i think it'll pounce on us" whispered Catherine. "I agree, but where are we gonna go? all the doors are locked or sealed off...hey thats a point, the door was open so how come the explosives didn't go off?", "The guy behind the voice must have the control to make the explosives making the fuse dead or live. That may work in our favour in getting the hell outta here, Catherine whispered back.

Grissom and the team were in the break room. " Ok Grissom, why page us all to get back to lab ASAP?" asked Warrick. "And while were at it, why didn't you come to me first, Griss I'm supervisor now, I don't mind man but you gotta remember that i do this kinda stuff now, not you" Nick added.

" I'm sorry Nick and i don't mean to step on your toes. Jim and i got a phone call, some guy has Sara and Catherine trapped in the house in Millionaires Mountain. The hous is rigged with explosives and any attempt from us to get in or them to get out will cause the explosives to detonate". Grissom explained the situation to the team. " Okay, but how do we know this is for real, i mean what evidenc is there, other than what could be a prank phonecall" Greg said in a hopeful voice. " I've tried ringing both Catherine and Sara several times-no answer, Jim did some checking on the double homicide over there...no squad car or cop have seen Sara or Catherine, they're still waiting for them to arrive".

Nick thought aloud, " Where do we begin, we have no evidence to process, just one phone call and the address of where they should have gone. I can get Archie working on locating where the call came from and Jim you can get your guys to search millionaires mountain for the house they might be in". Halfway out the door Jim said " Already on it, i'm going out there now-keep you posted". Grissom was about to leave with him when Nick called him back, " Grissom, i want you here, i want everyone here. Brass can do what he's paid to do and we can do what we're paid to do, starting with Catherine and Sara's recent case files. We need to find a link between them and this guy. Go back 6 months, look for anything you think may be significant, especially cases involving bombs, etc. We have nothing so mayb we'll find something".

Warrick and Greg headed off on a mission, Grissom stood in front of Nick, " Nick you need to have us out there, we can't do anything here, you said yourself we have nothing", Nick stepped to one side and poured a cup of coffee, " I need you all here, theres nothing out there either, not until Brass finds the house and even then what can we do? Besides the guy will call again and he'll call here first not out there. Grissom when you were supervisor, we all trusted you with our lives, you gotta do the same with me". Grissom took a cup of coffee Nick passed to him, " I do, I apologize". Nick smiled and assured Grissom they'd get Sara & Catherine back as they headed out the door to join Warrick & Greg.

" I'm kinda getting bored and nervous of going round in circles with this oversized cat!" mumbled Catherine. " So you'd prefer it to pounce?" Sara said as the panther let out a mighty roar and ambled towards them. " I think it heard you!" Catherine said as she and Sara made a run for it up the long, winding staircase, the panther sprung into action and sprinted after them. " Sara the tapestry!" , Sara understood what Catherine was getting at, the pair tore the tapestry off the wall and flung it over the panther just before it pounced. " Bought us a couple of seconds" Catherine shouted as they ran down the otherside of the staircase, they were halfway down when the panther crawled from beneath the tapestry and let out a loud growl. " Oh i think we pissed it off" Sara said as the found themselves back int the lobby. As they turned the a blurr of black appeared in front of them, they both fell to the floor.

Brass was already at Millionaires Mountain, a steady 95mph all the way with the blues & two's on did that. Over the radio he instructed his team to go in teams of four in each direction, he himself was heading towards the top of the mountain, he had a gut feeling this nut job wouldn't make things easy by being at the very bottom of the mounitain but further up, somewhere more remote. " Okay first mansion, number 9" Brass said to himself as he got out to check the place out.

Catherine went down first, the panther had almost hit her full force but caught Sara on its way down with Catherine. Sara grabbed her gun, after briefly kicking the panther off Catherine, who rolled out of harms way briefly. The panther lunged at Sara, two shots got fired but the panther still had Sara pinned on the floor, Catherine fired three more times and it finally lay lifeless on top of Sara. " Jeeze this things heavy, get it off of me!" Sara gasped out. Catherine limped over to Sara and helped pull off the beast. Sara got to her feet, clutching her shoulder. " Ow, i think he was hungry", Sara said to Catherine, " Yeah, i wont need to shave that part of my leg for a while, i think it took enough skin off for about a year, ow that stings!" Catherine gingerly inspected her leg.

"Aw what ya done to my cat! Ooo ladies you look abit rough round the edges, okay lets see whats behind door number 2...go through it!", the voice ordered them to. Sara was the first to speak up, " And what if we don't?", the voice replied, " I have no qualms in blowing you up, i'd prefer some fun first but i will blow you up-you wanna risk it it?". Catherine grabbed Sara's good arm, " Come on, lets just hope there's no bear in there".

The two made there way into what looked to be the kitchen area. " Easy ladies, just make your way to the door at the other side of the kitchen, oh yeah i forgot, you have to be careful not to get sliced and diced with the flying cutlery.

" What the hell is he on about, what flying..." , just as Catherine took a step forward as knife whizzed by, narrowly hit her and lodging in the wall. " Oh you gotta be kidding"!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4.

Brass walked up the long drive of mansion no.11. Number 9 was empty and had no sign of activity. As he stepped up to the front door an elderly man came out the front door. "Hello, sir. My name's Detective Brass of the Las Vegas PD, i was hoping you could tell if you'd seen these two women around this area at all, they would have been driving a black Denali". Brass handed to man a picture of the Csi's, " yeah i did" said the elderly man. Pressing the man again, Brass questioned him, " Do you know which way they went?", the old man replied " Yeah i did". Rolling his eyes, Brass remained calm, " Ok well which way did they go?", the elderly man pointed up the mountain, " That way", Brass looked the man who was just looking back at him, " Ok well thankyou for your help sir", even millionaires are clueless at times he thought to himself. When Brass got to his car he called a back to the lab.

Nick took out his cellphone, " Brass" he said to the rest of the team, putting his phone on speaker. " I got a lead from the village idiot -i'll explain later, anyway he said he saw Catherine & Sara head up the mountain from his place, there's only three more houses on this side of the the mountain, 13, 15 and 17. I'm about to check out number 13". Nick was the first to speak, " Ok well so far we've come up with nothing, i'll check into the owners of those three houses, see if anything interesting comes up. Let us know the minute you find anything Jim". " Will do", with that Brass hung up and the team got to work on background checks of the owners of the remaining houses on Brass's side of Millionaires Mountain. Finally they had a direction to go in.

" I'm getting tired of playing games. How are we meant to get across there without getting stuck with something?" Catherine said, thinking out loud. " Well i been thinking about that, we're stood on a tile right", Catherine looked down at the floor and realised that they were both stood on individual tiles, " My guess is, that each one has a pressure pad, some are lethal, some aren't. So all we gotta do is choose the right ones or stay off the floor completely". Sara figured out. " I don't disagree with you Sara but how are we meant to know which one's are lethal?, there's hardly a cross and tick on each one to help us out." Catherine pointed out to Sara, " Well i know that but at least i'm thinking, i think our best chance is to stay off the floor, which means we gotta get from here to the centre kitchen area and from there to the door" Sara suggested. Catherine looked at Sara in disbelief, " I don't know about but i'm not Spiderman Sara, how do you suppose we get to the centre kitchen area, run and jump?!". Sara smiled and raised her eyebrows, " That's what i was kinda thinking, yeah. Run, jump and pray". Catherine didn't know what to say, did Sara really think that was going to work. " Ok, you first". Sara looked at Catherine, " Actually i thought maybe you like to go first". Catherine edged Sara forward, " Kiddo, prove yourself and get us outta this mess". Sara moved as far back as possible in the limited space then launched herslef up and forwards. She narrowly missed her target and landed on two tiles, but no flying knives. " I guess these two are good then", Sara said looking back at Catherine. " Aren't you glad", Catherine told Sara to sit on top of the kitchen area while she made the same jump onto the safe tiles.

Brass was on his way to house 13. Since the others had been a washout. As he neared number 13 he could see that the windows looked a metal colour, as he pulled up the drive he noticed the girls Denali and that metal was just what it was. " I guess i found the house", Brass dialled the lab, " I'm at number 13, they're here, or at least their car is. The windows are closed off with metal shutters from the inside, i'm not even gonna try the door just incase the place really is rigged to go bang". Grissom asked " Can you see Sara or Catherine?", Brass tried to get a look in, " Gil i can't see a thing, the whole place is shut off from the outside world".

Nick broke the silence from Brass's last comment " I'm sending Greg & Warrick over, me & Grissom will dig deeper into this guy's background. According to the housing records the owner is a Mr. Dean Marshall, ring any bells with you?". The line went silent for a moment, then Brass spoke up, " Yeah it does and if it's him, we're in some serious trouble or at least Catherine and Sara are".

"Ok so we're both off the floor, now we just got to get over the last half of the kitchen tiles, and why am i not convinced that the two tiles in front of the door aren't user friendly", Catherine said whilst trying to figure out what to do next. Sara was looking up at the ceiling, " Hey Catherine, the ceiling isn't plaster all over", Sara pointed to an air vent about two feet to the right of them. " What you think, fancy crawling through an air vent like they do in the movies?", Catherine laughed " Yippe Ki-ay! At this point i'm game for anything, pardon the pun".

Sara, whilst being held steady by Catherine leaned across to the air vent and managed to get it open. It was then she felt something give on her waist band, as she looked down she saw her cellphone fall from her waist towards the floor, Catherine tried to grab it but missed. The phine it a tile and a knife flew out the wall and straight at Sara. Sara was in no mans land, unable to go up the vent and unable to get back to the kitchen area, the knife hit Sara in her side as she went crashing to the floor. Knives, cleavers, forks fleww across the room.

Catherine grabbed Sara and dragged her to the doorway, unaware of what was hitting her, the pair tumbled through the door in a bloody heap-motionless.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5.

Sara didn't know what part of her body first. Should she pull out the fork in her shoulder or maybe the two stuck in her thigh, or then again she thought, i could pull out the knife in my side. She decided to go for the forks first, as she pulled them out one by one, she bit her bottom lip to try and ease the momentary pain as the foreign object removed itself from her body. It was then she realised she hadn't seen or heard Catherine, before she pulled the knife frm her side she turned around to find Catherine on her knees, bent over, and what looked to be doing-breathing exercises. Sara lay still watching for a moment, it was then that she noticed the reason for Catherines calming breathing. With a little chuckle Sara said to Catherine, " Hey Cat, you got a fork in your ass!", laughing whilst pulling the knife from her side, Sara went on, " Ugh, my sides are splitting, literally, hahaha, Greg is so gonna love this when i tell him". Catherine briefly glared back at Sara but couldn't help laughing herself, " Of all the places. Sara...pull it out for me". With a smirk, Sara crawled over to Catherine, at this stage she couldn't quite stand up by herself. " Ok on three, one, two...", Sara yanked the forked from Catherines rear. " I knew you were gonna go on two, no-one ever goes on three. Thanks. You tell Greg and i will shoot you". Sara looked at Catherine, not quite sure if she was being serious, " Aw come Cat, so you'll be the butt of every joke for a while", Sara surpressed a laugh. Joining in with the laughter, Catherine said, " Not funny. Come on we gotta get outta here, you think you can stand?", Catherine helped Sara to her feet, " Yeah, the knife didn't go too deep, i'm bleeding but i don't think it's life threatening. How's your ass?". Catherine raised an eyebrow to Sara, " I'm going to shoot you".

Brass was trying to get a sneak inside the mansion but it was no use, the place was locked down tight. " Brass shouted as loud as he could " Catherine, Sara can you hear me?", he never expected a reply but he sure wished he had one. Brass turned round to look down the drive when he heard a car pull up, followed by two other cars. It was Warrick and Greg, and the bomb squad. "Lets hope we don't have to use them yet" Brass muttered to himself.

Warrick and Greg got out and went upto Brass. " Anything?" Warrick asked. " There's no way were getting in that place, certainly not at the risk of Cath & Sara's safety. We may have to play along with Deans game, did Nick & Gil fill you in on his background?". Greg replied, " Yeah on the way up here. So this Dean guy is an ex cop, turned electrical expert/entrepeneur, turned millionaire, turned psycho, need i go on. Oh who hates your guts so Sara & Cath's predicament, technically could be because of you". Warrick rolled his eyes at the young Csi's tactlessness, and hit him in the chest. " It's ok Warrick, I know Greg didn't mean it like that, because he knows i would kill him if he did, dontcha Greg?" Brass responded. Looking guilty Greg replied, " I didn't mean that to sound as it came out but it's all abit extreme, all this i mean. From what Nick said, you testified in court that he tampered with evidence, like twelve years ago and he got kicked out the force, took him long enough for revenge". Brass looked at Greg & Warrick, " Thats not why he wants revenge, it's probably part of it but the main reason i'm guessing is because it turns out my girlfriend was also his girlfriend". Brass stalked off round the side of the mansion. Greg blurted out, "Whoa Brass had girlfriend! Still, Warrick, all this for a love triangle, somethings not adding up?". Warrck nodded, " I agree man, i agree, I'm gonna tell Nick & Griss".

" Maybe we shoot it, it'll come off then", Sara said, referring to the air vent that was stuck solid. " Go for it, i'm past caring and playing by his rules", Catherine told Sara, moving away from the vent. Sara shot two rounds, then she and Catherine gave it a good yank. The vent grill came free, and the both crawled into the space, Catherine first. " Not quite John Mclane in Die Hard but hey we look as bad", Catherine let out a light laugh, " Well we're certainly as beat up as him, or at least i feel it. So is this becuase of you?", Sara probed. " Why? Just because someone knows my background, doesn't make it my fault Sara", Catherine replied. The pair stopped when they heard the voice, " Bitches! Get outta my air vents! I can still hear you, Catherine your colleague is right, you little whore, hows Jim?!". Sara looked so very confused. " Dean?" ,Catherine shouted out. " The one and only, careful it may get hot in there", Dean warned.

Just then an explosion rocked the place, the bang was ear piercing, the they heard a swishing noise and an orange glow behind them. " Catherine move! That's gone burn us, go, go, go!", Sara shouted. The pair crawled through the tight space at pace, the fire getting closer and closer, the heat ever more intense.

Brass, Warrick & Greg all hit the floor. " What the hell was that?!", Greg screamed out. A window had blown out. " Nevermind that, what about Cath & Sara!", Warrick replied concerned. As they stood up, they ran round the side to the explosions sight, but the bomb squad held them back. Struggling, Warrick shouted, " Sara!! Catherine!!".

" Faster Catherine!", Sara was beginning to feel the heat-literally. As they turned the corner, Catherine kicked out at an air vent. She managed to kick it through as the flames engulfed the pair.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6.

Engulfed, Catherine and Sara fell through the air vent and landed in a swimming pool below. As Sara came to the top, coughing and spluttering, she looked around frantically for Catherine. Nowhere to be seen, Sara dived underwater, she spotted Catherine at the bottom of the pool. Sara grabbed Catherine and took them both to the surface. "Catherine!" ,Sara shouted as she dragged Catherine's body out of the water. Sara checked to see if she was breathing-she wasn't, she performed CPR immediately, " Come on Cath, this is not the time to quit on me!", Sara continued chest compressions when Catherine spluttered water and opened her eyes. " Hey" Sara said, Catherine looked a little dazed, trying to focus, then recognized Sara, " Hi, why are we soaking wet?", Catherine asked confused. Sara pulled Catherine up into a siting position and began to explain. " We were in the air vent when an explosion went off, we were caught in the fire and then we came through the vent opening, landed in the pool and that's about it really, other than me having to do a Baywatch and play lifeguard with you". Catherine smiled, " Well other than feeling and looking like we've both got a sunburn, oh and i nearly drowned, oh and my clothes are ruined. We seem to being doing well a staying alive".

" I'm glad you're feeling alright. Now you can tell me what you've gotten me into. This Dean guy, what's he all about? Why is he doing this Catherine, if I'm gonna die because your personal life, once again has run into your professional life, i wanna know", Sara said in tough voice. Looking at Sara, knowing she was starting to get pissed, Catherine began to explain.

As the bomb squad tried to secure the explosion site, Brass, Warrick and Greg were told to stay behind the tape line. Warrick was on he phone straight away, " Nick! You and Griss had better get down here fast, there's been an explosion, i dunno man, we have no contact with them, ok i'll tell them". Turning to Greg and Brass, " Nick and Griss are on their way over now, Nick wants us to process what we can on the outside, anything that may give us a clue as to where this Dean psycho may being controlling this place from". With that Greg went to the car and got his and Warricks kit. Brass talked with the bomb then over the radio, contacted all his units to meet him at the mansion.

"Grissom, i know it's difficult but stay positive, we don't know if they were in that explosion or not". Grissom shot Nick a look, " That's my wife in there Nick, and Catherine". Nick retorted, " And that's my best friend and Catherine in there too Griss, Sara may not be my wife but i love her too, she's like my sister". Grissom knew how much Nick cared for Sara, he often thought that had Sara not been in love him, then she and Nick would be perfectly matched. Sara was there for Nick after his kidnapping ordeal, and vice versa when Sara was nearly killed, they had a special bond,which, as Nick stated, was like brother and sister. " I know you do Nick, it's just i nearly lost her twice, i'm not going through that again-i can't". " Sara & Catherine are the smartest women i know, they'll be fine", Nick reassured them both as they pulled up the drive to the mansion.

Sara looked at Catherine, " I'm shocked, but not surprised, i don't think anyway. When this is over though you're gonna have some explaining to do."

Catherine, getting up off the floor said, " I had kinda thought we would. Ok so i've come clean, your turn...back in the Denali, why'd you ask what we all felt when you were missing?". Sara looked at Cath, " Everyone just seemed to get on as normal, like nothing happend. It felt like no-one cared. Nick helped, but it was like everyone else, even Grissom, just forgot about what happend". Genuinely hurt by Sara's thoughts, Catherine said nothing other than three simple words " You were wrong".

Looking over at the air vent Catherine whispered in Sara's ear " Everything we say, we whisper. Dean can see what we're doing, let's not give him all the satisfaction of hearing our plans", Whispering back into Catherine's ear she replied, " By that are you thinking the same thing as me-somehow shut down his camera's?". As the made their way to the vent Catherine said, " Exactly".

The two women entered the vent and began crawling forwards. Having no idea where they were headed, Sara tapped on Catherine's leg to stop. Whispering, Sara asked, " Do you actually have any idea where to go, cos i'm playing follow the leader here". Turning round to Sara, Catherine whispered back, " Actually, no, i just figured we'd keep going til either we came across a room that looked safe and we could try and figure this out, or we might come across a power cable in the vents-wishful thinking". Looking a little defeated, Sara motioned Catherine to move forward when Dean's voice sounded. " You know for two clever Csi's, you are dumb to go in the air vents-again. Every possible escape plan has been thought of and blocked. And to the highest standard. You aint getting outta here alive".

Looking at eachother, Sara and Catherine carried on forward then paused when they saw a shadow up ahead. Looking back at Sara, Catherine said, " Well considering what 'outthere' traps he's set so far, i wonder what's next". Catherine waved her hand in front of Sara's face, to get her attention as Sara was staring straight past her, " Cobra", Sara said. Confused Catherine said " Huh?", Sara pointed slowly, as Catherine turned her head, she saw the snake, with a slight gasp she turned back to Sara, but ended up looking straight passed her too, " Not sure but i trade my Cobra for your Viper". Turning Sara saw the other snake. They sat stock still, then the Cobra raised up.


	7. Chapter 7

Looking at the Cobra, head raised, Catherine whispered, " Oh i so wish Samuel. L Jackson was here right now". Not moving too sharply, Sara glanced at Catherine, " That Cobra, you think he's mad at us or the Viper?, because we're piggy in the middle". Eyes wide open, Catherine whispered, " Sara just keep still. My Cobra may be staying where it is for now but your Viper is on its way over".

Sara's eyes, looked at Catherine with fear, " Believe me, i'm not moving an inch".

The snake slithered its way closer and closer to Sara, who was still keeping a watch on Catherine's Cobra, which still stood its ground at the other end of the vent. " Sara, the Viper's only a few inches away. Do not panic sweetie. When its over you, i guess its going to go over me, so don't make it mad", Catherine said, trying to sound in control.

" I won't, unless it bites me, then all hell will break loose", Sara said with a worrying smile.

Sara closed her eyes as she felt the snake go over her leg. As she opened them she looked down at the snake. It was shiny with gorgeous markings, Sara thought to herself as she watched it inch by inch go over her. The Cobra was still non motional at the other end which was a good thing, Catherine & Sara certainly didn't need the two facing off over them. The Viper was half on Sara & half on Catherine, when Catherine's mobile started to vibrate on her waistband.

Grissom was stood with several members of the Bomb squad. " Ok, bad news is, at present, we can't jam the signal to the explosives, but the good news is we've stumbled across the frequency that was jamming our communication with your Csi's. We should be able to contact them now. With that, Grissom was on the phone to Sara, " Come on Sara answer the phone". Grissom walked over to Brass and the team. " We have communication back with the girls but Sara isn't answering, i'm just trying Catherine now". The team waited anxiously.

Catherine looked down at her belt in horror as her phone vibrated. Sara did the same to Catherine, whilst miming, " It says Grissom". Catherine rolled her eyes. Of all the times to call me, he chooses now, when i have a venomous snake on me and another at my side, Catherine thought to herself. Not sure what to do, Catherine decide to cautiously answer the phone until the Viper, which was now totally on her turned and raised itself directly into Catherine's eye line. With a gulp Catherine stared into the snakes eyes. The Cobra let out a hiss which distracted the Viper enough to lose interest in Catherine. Once the snake was totally off her, she & Sara slowly backed up away from the snakes which by now had forgotten about them and were facing off eachother. When they were a safe distant from the snakes, Sara said, " If Grissom can call, then they must be onto something outside, at least we got help now". Raising both eyebrows, Catherine replied, " And about time", Catherine dialled Grissom.

" It's Catherine,Grissom relayed, "Catherine are you ok, where's Sara, she didn't..." Grissom said down his phone, Catherine cut him off, " Hell Grissom you nearly got me bitten by a snake! and Sara is fine, she's with me in the air vent". Grissom looked confused, which made the others look puzzled, " Bitten by a snake, in a vent? What are you on about? and why are you whispering". Greg turned to Warrick, " Did he just say a snake?", Warrick nodded with a frown. Catherine filled him on what they had been through so far and the situation they were in, then passed the phone over to Sara, " Hey Griss, i'm ok, we're both abit bruised and bloody but were ok", Grissom was silent for a moment then replied, " Stay that way honey" , before hanging up, Sara replied, " We intend to, help us Gil. Talk to you soon".

Grissom relayed what they had told him. When they noticed that the top floor window shutters began to open. Watching them, Nick said, " Is this a good thing or a bad thing?". Brass's phone rang, " You chose to interfere, the girls must forfeit!". Brasses face went white, " I'm calling Catherine, Dean's gonna make them forfeit".

Sara and Catherine had found another vent and lowered themelves through into, what looked like one of he main bedrooms. " Oh what i wouldn't give to be tucked up in bed right now", Catherine sighed. Sara said, " Look the shutters are opening!". Both girls ran to the window and saw the team below, thats when gas started to pour into the room. Noticing the smell Sara tried to break the glass, "Reinforced!", she shouted as Catherine answered her Cell, " Jim we got gas in the room, we can't breathe!". Slowly they began to lose strength and became disorientated.

" Oh my god, he's gassing them", Brass said as he and the team watched helplessly, as Catherine and Sara slid down the windw, out of sight. " Sara!", Grissom yelled.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8.

Catherine and Sara laid on the ground, gas filling the room, the girls began to choke, unable to find any clean air. Sara was the first to lose consciousness, then Catherine.

Brass's cell phone rang again, " I can pump the room full of clean air again, get rid of those gassy fumes. Would you like me to do that Jimmy?", Dean laughed down the line. " What,do you want me to beg Dean, is that it? Stop the god damn gas!", Brass sounded off down the line, then composed himself, " Please...Dean please". The line went quiet for a second, which seemed like a lifetime to everyone. Then Dean answered, " Remember, I said earlier you get three chances...you just used one". With that the line went dead.

Panicked, Greg asked the question, " So does that mean he's stopped the gas?". Brass, Grissom, Nick and Warrick all briefly looked at the young Csi, then turned to look up at the window where they last saw their colleagues. " I hope so Greg. Come on Catherine...Sara", Nick answered.

About twenty minutes had passed, whilst clean air filled the room. Catherine was the first to show any sign of life, first a flicker of the hand then her eyes opened. Focusing on the room, Catherine felt a little nauseous, slowly getting up into a crouched position she saw Sara's prone body,lifeless. Catherine crawled over to Sara. " Sara, sweetie, can you hear me? Sara?". With no response from Sara, Catherine checked all her vital signs. Sara seemed to be ok, but she was still unconcious, rolling her into the recovery position, there was nothing Catherine could do but wait for Sara to come round. She took out her phone and called Brass, whilst making her way over to the window so the team could see she was okay. Waving down to the team, Brass answered his cell. " Jim we're okay, i think. Sara's still unconcious. You know its Dean. Jim i think we should...", Catherine stopped speaking when the metal shutters came down over the windows once again,the noise surprising her.

From the outside, the team felt so very helpless, Warrick and Greg's process of the scene turned up no results. In short it was simply a case of how to get Catherine & Sara out or them in, no forensics involved. " Catherine you still there", asked Brass. Catherine carried on, " Yeah, sorry, the shutters surprised me. We need to take away some of Dean's control, the main thing is these camera's, he knows our every move plus we need to be able to open these doors ourselves, we can't stay as his mercy. Can't you get some tech expert in? What about Archie?".

Brass's phone was on speaker. Warrick, said, " Good to hear you Cath. We got Archie working on a location for Dean, if we can find his control base, we stand a better chance of getting you outta there. We're trying to get on the same signal frequency, to be at least able to see what Dean see's but he's got it bouncing off so many other signals it's taking time. Hold tight Catherine, stay safe a while longer". Grissom interjected, " Cath, how's Sara?".

Looking down at Sara, who was still out of it, Catherine replied, " Still unconscious. Gil, take the phone off speaker". Grissom took the phone off speaker, " It's off, Catherine?". Catherine sat next to Sara, " Gil, we're in a house of horrors here. We're both smart and strong but i don't know what else our bodies can take. We've been attacked by a Panther, nearly blown up, set on fire, stabbed numerous times by flying cutlery, i nearly drowned, we both could've been bitten by poisonous snakes...gassed. Gil what's next, what's behind the next door". Catherine stroked Sara's hair, of the two of then Sara seemed the most banged up, the stab wound she sustained in the kitchen wasn't bleeding heavily but had been bleeding steadily over the last couple of hours, she needed medical attention, they both did.

" Catherine is there something you're not telling me?" Grissom asked worriedly. Deciding not to panic him more, Catherine replied, " Yeah my a$s hurts". Frowning confusedly, Grissom asked the question, " You're a$s, Catherine..". Catherine cut him off, " You wouldn't believe it. We'll stay alive Grissom, i just wanted you to know the extent of what's happend so far without panicking the team, they need clear heads to get us out of this one. You know what though...now i know what Nick & Sara felt like, in that box, under that car. And they were alone. Make it third time lucky, save us". Catherine hung up, tears stinging her eyes. She was scared, for her and Sara but she had to stay strong.

" We have to get them out of there", Grissom said. Speaking up, Nick informed Grissom, " While you were talking to Cath, we've got plans of the house, Archie e-mailed them over, he's also narrowed it down to a 20 mile radious from here, as to where Dean might be". Brass started to walk to his vehicle. " Where are you going?", Nick shouted. " We have a search area, i can't stand around here waiting. I'm a detective, i'm going to detect! Keep me informed". Brass got into his vehicle, taking several cops with him.

"The mansion is like a maze, we still have no idea what's behind those doors, but there looks to be some kind of room just off the basement which wasn't on the original plans, these are the second lot of plans which went through the final stage of acceptance five weeks ago- what's that room?", Nick said.

" Only Sara and Catherine can tell us that, and Sara can't at the minute, she' still unconcious". Grissom sadi. Greg kicked the tyre of the car in frustration. " We're cleverer than this nut guys, c'mon we're Csi's for gods sake, people keep messing with us and i'm sick of people trying to kill our team off one by one. Every year, one us nearly meets our maker!". Grissom, Warrick and Nick all looked at Greg who was genuinely angry. " What!". Greg exclaimed.

Sara started to stirr. Turning over she realised she was lying on Catherine's lap, Catherine was cradling her like she was her daughter, mothering her for comfort. " Hey, the gas gone?" Sara asked. Looking down at Sara with relief, Catherine answered, " Yeah, gone. So sleepy were you? You feel ok?". Helping Sara up into a sitting position, Sara replied, " Yeah-was tired. Got a headache, but i think i'm okay". Just as she said that the bedroom door opened. Looks like it's time to move. Dean spoke, " Now both you sleeping beauties are awake, go through the door. When you get through it, you''ll see three doors, pick one". Sara and Catherine got to their feet and went through the door.

Three doors were there. " So which door?", Catherine asked. Dean spoke again, " Choose wisely my dear's, one door is safe, the other two aren't". Looking at the three doors, then eachother, Sara said, " Well he was a whole lot of help. I choose no.3". Looking at door three, Catherine said, " Why door 3? Why not 1 or 2?". Sara replied, " Well i could say, why 1 or 2? Why not no.3, we have to pick one so if you have no objections...". Looking back at the door again, " Ok, door no.3 it is. Lets hope it's our lucky number", Catherine said.

Catherine and Sara entered through door three. The room was clear. Looking round the room for any signs of danger. Catherine was the first to speak, " Way to go kiddo!", smiling at Sara. Just then the floor gave way and they fell about 10 feet to another level. " Yeah way to go", Sara said. The room was dim and dank, it smelt like decomposing bodies. Catherine got out her flashlight and scanned around the room.

In front of them were two bodies hanging. " Oh god. Wait a minute, that, that's, my DB from a car accident two weeks, the tattoo on his arm...why the hell is my DB in here?!" Sara aked out. Catherine replied back, " Yeah and the other is my DB from last weeks sudden death in the Bellagio". As Catherine moved the flashlight around the bodies she noticed their hands & feet were missing. Sara spoke up, " Hey, didn't some serial killer do that to his victims in Chicago...ate the hands & feet i mean?". With an expression of terror, Catherine answered, " Yeah, there was and he escaped from prison 3 weeks ago".

Just then something moved in the shadows.

Thankyou for all the encouraging reviews!! Hope this story is entertaining enough, it's my first fic so all reviews are welcome! Next chapter may be a couple of days-my birthday tomorrow. Enjoy :)


	9. Chapter 9

Catherine and Sara stood frozen, waiting to see what emerged from the shadows.

The Bomb squad shouted Nick over. Nick walked over to the bomb squad, " Please say you got something for me man", Nick asked hopefully. To his relief, he got the reply he wanted to hear.

" We've managed to get into the video feed fully, so, instead of just watching what's going on we could potentially change what your nutjob see's. We create a dummy video and loop that image into the live feed. The only problem with that is not only will he not see what's really happening, but neither will we, but on the good side, it give your colleagues more freedom without big brother watching them", explained the tech guy.

" So, it's abit like what they did in the Speed movie. We film them as now and then let it play repeatedly. Ok, how about the explosives?", Nick asked again in hopefulness.

" Sorry, we still have no luck on that side". The tech guy said with an apologetic look on his face. Nick walked over to the team and explained what they could do. As the team walked over to watch what the current situation was with Catherine and Sara. Grissom reached for his phone again to call Catherine.

Catherine and Sara both drew their guns and took a step back. From the shadows came forward a figure. As it came closer into the light, the girls could see it was a life size cardboard cut out of Brass. They instinctly fired, Sara only had one shot, Catherine stopped after three when she noticed it was Brass. Looking at Catherine, Sara said, " A little trigger happy there, huh, good job it wasn't Jim in the flesh". Looking sheepish, Catherine said, " You wouldn't be saying that if it was that serial killer". Looking back at the cardboard Brass, Dean's voice spoke out once again, " Oooh girls, you are a feisty! Of course Catherine, I already know that about you. Did you really think i would brig in an escaped felon to off you? Nah, I have something better than that".

Looking at the screens, Warrick asked the question that everyone was thinking, " Why is there a cardboard cut out of Jim-with holes in it?". Everyone just looked puzzled and continued watching.

Grabbing her phone, Catherine answered, " Grissom now is not a good time, why are you always calling at inappropriate times!". Puzzled, Grissom said, " Why is there a cardboard Brass with holes in it?". Catherine rolled her eyes at Sara, then something struck her. " Wait a minute, I never said we shot a cardboard Brass-you can see us?", she asked down the phone. Grissom nodded to himself, " Yes we can see you. Still no luck on the explosives yet". Just as Grissom was about to ask another question, Catherine cut him off, " Gil I gotta go".

Catherine looked at Sara. " Why are we moving back?", she asked. Sara paused, still looking forward, " Something else is moving in the shadows". As they both looked into the dark area, Sara was right, something was shifting about. " Put down your weapons ladies", Dean said, neither of them took any notice. " Unless you want me to set the explosives off, you'll do as i tell you-put them down and slide them forwards. Do it!". Not wanting to provoke Dean anymore, they laid down their weapons and slid then forwards.

" Okay Dean, give it up. Do you have a serial killer back there or what? I think i speak for us both when I say that- You're really pi$sing me off! I mean, come on, this house of horrors of yours isn't exactly original- it's already been done-Saw 1, 2, 3...for example. You can't be jealous, we didn't last long enough for that, and Jim is way, way more of a man than you could ever be!". Giving Catherine a ' What the hell are you doing' look, Sara said, " Are trying to get us killed!".

Startled, Nick asked, " Did Catherine just admit to being with Brass or was it my hearing?". They all stared at Grissom. " You heard correctly Nick", he said, then stared back at the screen.

" So say hello to my surprise". Dean said smugly. The figure from the shadows moved forward. First to enter the light was a pair of hands holding a gun, then..." Ellie?", Catherine said out loud in disbelief.

Greg spoke up first, " That's Brass's daughter, with a gun". Taking out his phone again, Grissom called Brass.

Sara was just as stunned. " Ellie, what are doing?", Sara asked. Ellie smirked at Catherine, " Getting sweet revenge". Ellie fired the gun.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10.

Catherine and Sara looked at eachother for a split second, both stunned, then Sara fell to the floor.

Staring at the screen, having difficulty processing what they had just seen, the team continued watching the horror before them. " Jim, get over here-Now. Ellie just shot Sara", with that Grisom hungup, eyes transfixed on the screen.

Catherine, completely ignoring Ellie who still had the gun trained on them, went down to Sara, who was clutching her shoulder. " Sara, lay down sweetie", Catherine said. Catherine applied pressure to Sara's wound, Sara grunted as she did it. " Ugh, that hurts", Sara said gasping. Wincing for her, Catherine continued to press down, " I know honey but we gotta stop this bleeding or at least control it. How do you feel?", she asked.

Before Sara could answer, Ellie took a few steps closer to Catherine and put the gun to back of her head, " Get up", she said. Catherine didn't move and continued to help Sara. Becoming impatient, Ellie said once more, " Get up or i'll shoot her again".

Processing that thought, Catherine got up slowly and stepped away from Sara and then backed off from Ellie. " I don't understand any of this Ellie. Why shoot Sara?, why...how do you know Dean?". Ellie just smirked, as Dean answered Catherine's questions. " Well Jimmy jim jim isn't exactly close to his daughter is he, and Ellie knows how to have a good time...she wasn't exactly hard to persuade to help me out with my little plan of fun. I spoke to her a few times while i was still on the force. I didn't expect her to shoot Sara, although that just adds to the drama. She helps me and in return she gets as much of the white stuff she wants as well as getting back at daddy. Works all round really".

Catherine looked down again at Sara who had managed to get herself up into a sitting position. Sara merely looked at Catherine in disbelief, probably thinking the exact same thing as she was.

" You get invloved in all this for drugs and to get back at Jim? Ellie what has your dad ever done to you to deserve this". Ellie took a few steps closer to Catherine, gun still pointing in her direction. " Don't even pretend to understand what's gone on between me and my dad. I have no feelings for him at all, should've done me a favor and died when he got shot-could've got a nice bit of money from that". Catherine was concerned by the coldness of Ellie's voice, was that really her or the drugs talking.

Jim got out of the car and ran over to the team. " Gil, what's happening? Ellie's in there? She shot Sara?". Brass was confused and worried at the same time. He and Ellie were far from close but she was still his daughter, however he would never accept his daughter's behaviour today, least of all the act of shooting Sara, Brass had always thought highly of Sara and of course, she was his best friend's partner.

Grissom turned to Brass and pointed to the screens. " We don't know exactly what's happening, Ellie just appeared, they were talking then she turned the gun on Sara. Now it looks like they're talking again". Watching in as much horror as the rest of the team, Brass reached for his phone to call Catherine. " Gil, i don't know what to say. I..." Brass began. Grissom patted his friend on the back and looked at him sincerely, when Catherine answered the phone.

" Catherine put me on speakerphone", Brass asked. Catherine held the phone in front of her and put it on speakerphone, " It's your Dad", she told Ellie.

" Hey Dad, nice of you join us", Ellie said. Watching her every move on the screens, Brass attempted to talk his daughter into helping them. " Ellie, what are doing? You do know that shooting a CSI is serious, i can't help you this time, but you can help yourself. Put the gun down and help us-help yourself honey".

Ellie looked unphased by what Brass had just said, " Help myself...i already am Dad, Dean's taken good care of and i feel good, i feel good when i feel nothing". Sara was trying to get Catherine's attention while Brass and Ellie were talking. She had managed to slowly move herself closer to their guns that they had to throw down. She had a plan, she thought to herself, but it was risky. She needed Catherine to somehow distract Ellie while she made a move for the guns, although in her present state, she wouldn't be quite as fast as she would be normally. Sara caught Catherines attention and tried to tell her what she was planning by looking at the guns then back at Catherine, hoping she would catch on. Catherine understood immediatley.

Nick also picked up on what Sara was doing. He hadn't taken his eyes off her since he saw her get shot. "Jim, you gotta keep Ellie distracted, i think Sara's going for their guns", Nick whispered into Brass's ear so Ellie wouldn't over hear him in the background.

" Ellie, you gotta put that gun down, you're in deep and by doing this you're getting deeper and deeper". Ellie wasn't taking any notice, instead she was staring at Catherine. Dean was watching the whole episode unfold, he too could see what Sara was upto. Thats when he shouted out, " Hey Csi, watcha doing?". Ellie turned around fast to see Sara reaching for a gun. That's when Catherine seized the opportunity to disarm Ellie. As Ellie aimed the gun at Sara once again, Catherine flung herself at her, knocking the gun out of her hand. They fell to the floor, Ellie was feral in her attack on Catherine. The drugs had made her stronger than normal, Catherine got a clean punch in, straight across Ellie's cheek. The punch dazed her momentarily, then she came back at Catherine. The pair rolled about the floor, blow after blow came from both women. " Oh i do love a catfight!", Dean said, obviously amused by the action.

Sara managed to get to one of the guns. She turned to Catherine but she and Ellie were all over the place, she couldn't get a clean shot in. Then Catherine shot a quick kick to Ellie's midsection. She went flying backwards, that's when Sara trained the gun on her. " Now how i have a gun. Hands up on your head", Sara said. Ellie did as Sara said, then Sara passed Catherine the gun.

Greg punched the air in victory, " Yes! Go ladies, haha!" , the guys looked at him, " Hey, our girls just kicked some booty, i'm proud", Greg finished. Brass decided to talk again. " Ellie, help us now, give it up, tell us where to find Dean".

Dean began to laugh, " You people are so dumb, i mean for top Csi's and Cops with medals, you're all pretty damn stupid. Do you really think you're getting outta of this alive". Everyone was silent for a moment, then Ellie began to undo her shirt. " Put your hands back on your head", Catherine ordered but Ellie continued to take off her top. To everyone's horror Ellie had three sticks of dynamite strapped to her body. She began to laugh, a crazy laugh.

" Dean gave me this, told me it made me look pretty", Ellie smiled. Just how high was this girl. She put her hand to her belt buckle. " If I push this then we all go to a better place. I believe it's better than here. Hey Dad aren't you proud!", Ellie sneared then laughed.

Brass couldn't believe his eyes or ears. His daughter was so screwed up on drugs and the influence Dean had had on her, she was willing to blow herself and everyone else in the room up to go to a better place and exact the ultimate spite on her father.

Brass spoke up, " Catherine, you know where i'm coming from with this, you understand what i'm trying to tell you. If it comes to it, you know what to do".

Catherine understood fully, " Ellie, don't do this, don't let Dean control you, we can help you, please let us help". Ellie looked coldly at Catherine then Sara, then back to Catherine. " Dad...i'm sorry". Ellie reached for the belt buckle, just as she got to it, Catherine fired. Ellie fell to the floor. Catherine had taken a clean shot between the eyes. " Jim...", Catherine was tearful, she hadn't wanted too but it was her and Sara or definite death.

Brass, looked totally shocked, " I know, thankyou Catherine, you just saved my daughter", Jim hung up then walked off back to his car without a word to anyone.

Sara touched Catherines shoulder, " You did what you had to do", she said. Just then the door opened, as did the door leading off of that room. They looked through the door. " Ladies you have full access to every room in the house. Oh and Catherine-nice shot, thanks for killing Ellie, i couldn't have planned it better", Dean said with a wicked laugh.

" Why is he giving us access to each room?", Sara thought out loud. As they made their way through several doors, Dean told them to take the door to their right and all would be revealed. Tentatively they went through it.

" CSI Willows, CSI Sidle, enjoy yourselves. Although i don't think you're likely to make it outta this one", Dean told them. As they looked on, neither could process what they were seeing. " Catherine, what now?", Sara said. Looking at Sara, Catherine replied, " Pray".

Standing in front of them were two 5ft tall blocks of cemtex, both fused, with one large timer in the middle with one hour on it. As they looked at eachother, the timer beeped, when they looked backed the timer was counting down.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11.

Catherine was on her cell phone instantly. " Grissom! Can you see what we're seeing?!".

Everyone, including the Bomb squad were watching the screen. " Yes Catherine, we can see everything. Just hang tight ok, don't touch the bomb". Grissom hung up and started talking to the Bomb squad chief.

" So where do we stand, can we diffuse the bomb manually?", Grisom asked. Looking back at the screen, Bomb squad expert, Ed Stevens answered Grissom question. " Yes and no. There's no way we can diffuse the bomb from out here. Catherine and Sara could diffuse the bomb if i talk them through it but it's tremendously risky, plus, what if your psycho still has control of it, he could decide to detonate it at any time".

Contemplating that thought, Warrick spoke up. " I don't think Dean would do that. I mean from what i can gather, this guy gets off on making us do all the jumping, making us decide things we don't want too. If he detonates that bomb, it takes all the fun out of watching us squirm. I don't think Dean's ready to give that up yet".

" I agree with Warrick. Dean's left us with no choice. If we don't try and diffuse that bomb, we all go boom anyway, but at the same time,if we get it wrong, he get's the satisfaction of watching Catherine and Sara kill themselves and knowing the rest of us couldn't do anything", Nick interjected.

Grissom was on the phone again, " Catherine you're going to have to diffuse the bomb yourselves. We'll talk you through it step by step".

Catherine had put the speakerphone on again. Staring at the phone as though Grissom had just shouted a torrent of abuse at them, Catherine replied with what both she and Sara were thinking, " Are you crazy! Grissom, we have a massive wad of cemtex in front of us and you want us to play, Blue wire, Red wire!".

Sighing, Grissom said calmly, " No i don't want you to play, but other than wait for the timer to reach zero, which we don't want to, we have no other way of diffusing it". As they looked at the bomb, Sara asked, " Grissom, what if Dean decides to detonate the bomb. Isn't this like a catch 22 situation?".

"We don't think Dean will. He's been enjoying the ride, th thrill and satisfaction of seeing us all squirm is too much for this guy. I don't think he's ready to give that up yet". Catherine took a closer look at the cemtex, " We don't think DEan will" Catherine mimicked," I have no idea where to even begin with this", Catherine said disheartened.

Ed the bomb disposal guy came over the phone, " Catherine, Sara, I'm Ed. I'm going to talk you through this step by step ok. The good thing is, i can see exactly what you see, but i'll need your help on the more intricate things, ok. First things first, i want you to tell me how many wires you can see. To do that, gently pull off the front of the timer".

Catherine took charge and carefully took the cover off the timer. " There's eight wires- all red!". Catherine and Sara looked at eachother in dread. How on earth are we meant to choose the right wire when they're all the same! Sara thought.

" Alright, don't panic. What we need to do is cancel each wire one by one until we're left with the live one's. Gently, trace each wire and tell me where it leads to if you can", said Ed.

Sara joined Catherine, moving up to the explosives. "Ok, Sara i'll trace the wires if you can gently hold the others back, ok?", Catherine asked. Sara nodded and went to hold a wire out of the way. Sara totally missed three of the wires, " Sara?", Catherine questioned when she noticed Sara was squinting to focus. " I, er, i'm having trouble focusing. Things keep getting a little blurry. I don't feel too good Cath", Sara said. Concern hit Catherine instantly. She knew how strong Sara was, so for Sara to admit she didn't feel good meant she really was struggling. " Okay, how do you feel?", Catherine asked as she propped Sara against a wall and took a look at her shoulder.

Grissom came over the speakerphone, " Catherine, what's wrong? Sara?". The bleeding from Sara's shoulder had calmed down somewhat but she was still bleeding and had been steadily from the wound to her side from the kitchen. " Feel a little whoozey, and tired, very tired", Sara answered Catherine. Catherine went into motherly mode, Stroking Sara's cheek, Catherine said, " I'll get you out of here sweetie, just keep fighting for me ok, i can't do this alone, I need you ok. Does it hurt much?". Smirking, Sara said, " More than the fork in your a$s", she chuckled.

With a raised eyebrow, Catherine replied, " I'll let you have that one Sidle, just stay with me ok?". Sara nodded. Grissom shouted over the phone again. Catherine picked up the phone and took it off speakerphone, " Gil, i'm gonna do this by myself ok, Sara's ok but she's not feeling too good. And before you ask me twenty questions, Sara's a fighter remember, so can we just get this thing diffused?". With that Grissom handed the phone to Ed, who came back onto the line.

" Alright Catherine, you know what to do, so let's do it, carefully check those wires for me", he said. Catherine began carefully tracing each wire with her finger, and after each wire took a quick look at Sara to see if she was still in the land of the living-she was, to her relief.

Greg was sat away from the screens, Nick noticed. He walked over to the younger Csi. " Hey Greggo, you ok?", he asked. Greg looked up at him, " I've been thinking about how all this began, something we've neglected to do since all this crazy stuff happend. The Homicide wasn't here at no. 13 so how come that was no. Catherine and Sara came too, the cops didn't get it wrong, so the case sheet must have been changed before you got to it hand out, more to the point, how could Dean be sure he'd get Catherine and Sara? Also, the room on the second set of plans...i think Dean has been here all the time, I think Dean is in that room, why else bounce the signal off so much if he was like 100 miles away".

Contemplating Gregs thoughts, Nick responded, " Greggo, I think your on to something, definintely with the change of number on the case sheet-we may have a traitor back at the lab. I think there's more behind this, think about it, nearly every cop is searching for this Dean, night shift are all working here and day shift are covering us. I think this is a cover up".

Catherine was so busy concentrating on the wires, she didn't notice something important. " Erm, Cath, the timer, it's jumping in block of 20 seconds!", Sara panickly said. Catherine watched the timer, it was losing time fast. She was immediately on the phone, " The timer is jumping-fast! What do i do?!".

Dean spoke up once more, " Having fun ladies...let's speed that clock up". The clock stopped counting down in blocks of twenty, it started counting down two minutes at a time instead.

" Ed! We're in real trouble here!", Catherine shouted down the phone. Catherine looked down at her phone, the battery had just died! " Sara, we just lost our bomb expert, my phone's died!". Sara pulled herself up to stand next to Catherine, " So now what, do we just yank any wire and see what happens?!". Sara looked at Catherine for any kind of encouragment. Just then the clocked jumped to two seconds and stopped. The Csi's hearts were in their mouths. Dean once more spoke, " Shall i?".

Nick and his team were glued to the screens, " Ah hell, this is going down all wrong man, we're puppets and he's pulling our strings", Warrick said.

Catherine moved towards the wires, " You know what Dean, screw your games, I'm not playing ball no more". Catherine took a hold of the wires, " Cath what you doing...oh you're not, you are!", Sara questioned. Catherine looked at Sara, " Oh yeah", as she yanked all the wires.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12.

Everyone held their breath.

Frowning, Sara said, " It didn't go off! Why didn't it go off? Shouldn't it have gone off?". Catherine inspected the device closer, " I don't know but i think playing chicken just gave us an edge", she replied.

" At it girl Catherine! She's thinking the same as us. Dean's definintely in that room, i can feel it", Nick said, then pointed to Warrick and asked him take himself back to the lab to find out who changed the case address. He then got on the phone to Brass, filled him in and told him to get back here as he wanted to send him and greg to the tunnel that lead off from the room they think Dean is in.

Sara looked at Catherine in confusion, " You played chicken...chicken? With a 5ft bomb!", Catherine shrugged, " He pi$sed me off", then grabbed Sara's arm as they started moving quickly through the doors they had come through to head back towards the room containing the Ellie's body.

" Why are we coming back here?", Sara asked. As they reached the room, Catherine headed for Ellie. " Because...i need two things...", Catherine informed Sara as she searched Ellie's body. Catherine took a cellphone out of Ellie's pocket and removed the two sticks of dynamite she ad planned to blow them all up earlier with. " The cellphone i get because ours died, but the dynamite kinda concerns me", Sara said. Catherine smiled back and explained, " We're gonna blow ourselves our own way out here. I think Dean has been here all the time, playing chicken back there just made me even more sure". Sara processed these thoughts then responded, " Ok...but if Dean is here and realises he has no control over us anymore, what's to stop him from just setting the explosives off anyway...and, oh, won't we trip the explosives if we break the connection between the metal shutters?".

Walking out of the room and past Sara, Catherine mumbled, " Sara can you just stop thinking logical for a moment and think about getting out alive. We're gonna die if we don't do something and personally i would rather die by my hand trying, than by Dean's. Besides, i think Dean's been playing on our fear, i'm not even sure he could blow us up-i hope anyway". Thinking again, " I get where you're coming from, I just...i don't like explosives, call me strange", Sara said back. As they walked towards the main hall again, to where it all started, Catherine called the team again to explain her intentions, as she did, Dean said, " Excuse me ladies, but what the hell do you think you're doing?!".

Catherine looked up, " Get with the program Dean, things are about to change". Dean didn't respond to Catherine's backchat, which concerned them as they would have thought that it would've have provoked some reaction. " Catherine give me the phone, i have something private i want to tell Grissom", Sara asked. Catherine passed Sara the phone. " Hey Gilbert, call this number via video calling", with that Sara hung up and waited for Grissom to call back. Catherine looked at her puzzled, " Video calling? now is not the time for kinkiness...does Grissom do kinky?", Catherine asked out loud. Sara smiled widely, " I make him happy", Sara said. The cellphone began to flash. Sara answered it and saw Grissom in realtime, " Hey you, i think you look better than me". Grissom stared intensly at the screen, " You still look beautiful, honey are you ok?", he asked. Setting the phone on a side table & positioning herself in front of it, Sara was about to start when she was interrupted. " Er, do i need to turn my back or leave the area?", Catherine said teasingly. Raising an eyebrow Sara replied, " You wanna carry on with those dynamite sticks or shall i just threaten you with two words- fork-greg",Sara smiled a wicked grin. Catherine carried on placing the dynamite securely to either side of the door.

" Ok, here it goes, but i kinda got a bad shoulder so you might have to fill in the gaps". Sara said to Grissom. On that note, Sara began to sign at Grissom. Grissom replied back in sign language too, and asked, " When did you learn this?", Sara replied, " It's something i started to learn in San Francisco". They continued to chat for several minutes before Catherine interrupted, " I hate to interrupt this tender moment but i have a few hand gestures i'd like to show Dean at the end of this but to do that i need to get out of here alive. Can i blow the door please?".

Sara and Grissom signed off, " I love you", Sara said, " I love you back", Grissom replied. Catherine stood over the one of the sticks of dynamite, " Ok, when i set the fuses alight we go to the top of landing...and then pray". Sara smiled, " I hope you know what you're doing. You know i'm still kinda concerned that Dean hasn't tried and anything or even spoke up". Contemplating, Catherine agreed, " It worries me too, but then nothing in this house surprises me anymore. Let's just get outta here. Ok here we go". Catherine set the fuses alight and she and Sara made their way to the landing and waited.

Watching the drama unfold, Ed the bomb tech said, " Your co-workers are either stupid, brave or both". Replying, Nick said, " They're brave but never stupid, they know what they're doing".

Brass and Greg had made their way to the end of the tunnel which according to the building plans, lead straight to the room in the mansion. The tunnel ended in the middle of nowhere, out of the way of any traffic or people, a perfect escape for Dean. They waited and waited, Dean was surely going to come their way soon, something that neither Brass nor Greg could wait for.

" Down now!", Catherine shouted. As they took cover, the dynamite exploded. The noise was deafening. As the looked up they could see daylight peaking through one side of the door. The explosion hadn't given them a clear exit but enough of a gap for outside help to prize them free. " Come on, let's get out of here", Catherine said as she helped Sara up. When they got to the door, Nick and Grissom were there.

" Hey girls, wanna come out?", Nick smiled. " Yes please, suddenly i'm not impressed by mansions anymore", Catherine replied. Sara and Grissom spoke in their langauge again and smiled at eachother intensley. " Get a room", Catherine said dryly as Grissom blushed. As they stood back, the team began to cut them free.

Back at the lab, Warrick had begun his search for the traitor that had changed the address on the case sheet. So far he hadn't come up with anything. He and Archie had been going through the cctv tapes for night shift, as they did they finally picked up on something, something totally astonished Warrick. The tapes showed one person entering and then leaving Nick's office 5 mins later, just 20 mins before their shift had started. It wasn't a traitor whom they knew, a fellow cop or Csi, but Grissom's old nemisis- Paul Millander.

Thanks for the reviews-stick with it-paul millander, dead or alive, hmmmm...


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13.

Warrick was on the phone to Grissom immediately. " Grissom, i gotta situation here...i have a cctv video and it's showing me Paul Millander going into Nick's office. How is that possible?".

Frowning, Grissom replied, " It isn't. Warrick what exactly do you mean?".

" I mean, i can see Paul Millander alive and kicking walking out of Nick's office. Me and Archie are seeing it with our own eyes Griss", Warrick answered back to him. Confused, Grissom answered back, " Warrick, check the tape again and double check it, tell Archie to put it through the image recognition program. There is absolutely no way that can be Paul Millander, he's dead, i saw the body, processed the scene".

There was a slight pause , then Warrick answered, " But we're...", Grissom cut Warrick off, " Remember what i taught you all in the very beginning...look at the evidence Warrick, it never lies. Think logically". On that note Grissom hung up.

Looking at Warrick, Archie said, " He wants me to put it through image recognition doesn't he?". Nodding, Warrick said, " Yeah. Prove to me i'm not seeing a dead man walking".

" What did Warrick say?", Nick asked, who was sat with Sara and Catherine with the EMT's. Raising an eyebrow Grissom said, " He told me that Paul Millander came out of your office shortly before you would have collected the shift's cases". Nick, Sara and Catherine all said in unison, " That's impossible", as they all looked at eachother. " That can't be right. Did you tell Archie to run it through image recognition?", asked Nick. Nodding and going to stand by Sara, Grissom replied, " Yeah. As soon as he gets something he'll call you".

Brass and Greg were still at the end of the tunnel waiting for Dean to make his escape. They had been waiting nearly 15 minutes after Nick had called to tell them Catherine and Sara were out and they were making the house safe. Greg looked at his watch. " Brass, it's been nearly 20 mins, I say we go in, see what we come across". Thinking for a moment, Brass looked at his own watch, " I agree. Ok everyone, we're going in the tunnel. I want us in one line, partners behind those in front, guns drawn. Let's go Greg, your with me". The team moved forwards into the tunnel, guns drawn, but something played on Brass's mind-Dean wasn't going to be there.

Warrick and Archie watched as the image recognition began to process the picture of Paul Millander. The screen flashed up as a 'match' and downloaded a picture of a haunted looking man, in his 30's going by the name of..." What? Ah man i gotta call Griss", Warrick said, face confusion. Not entirely sure if this was good or bad.

Sara was now on a gurney in the back in the ambulance, recieving treatment while Catherine was sat with Grissom on the back. " Catherine, You and Jim, you two going to be alright after this. Ellie I mean...". Catherine looked into thin air thinking. " I had no choice Gil, her or us-all of us. Awkward definitely, relationship breaking, I hope not. You mind if we do the heart to heart some other time? Right now i just wanna get checked out, make sure Sara's ok and then have a long, hot bath".

Smiling, Grissom put a hand on Cath's shoulder, " Sure, just let me know when and thankyou, for keeping yourselves alive". Smiling back back at Grissom, " Anytime, anytime", Catherine replied. Just then Grissom's cell rang and the EMT said the they were ready to leave now. " Ok, Catherine get in. Sara honey, I gotta take this call, i'll meet you at the hospital sweetheart", Grissom said and blew a kiss to Sara.

The ambulance made it's way off the drive of the mansion and out of sight for Desert Palms when Grissom answered his cell.

Brass and Greg were near the end of tunnel and still hadn't come across Dean. As they reached the door which presumably led into the mansion, Brass motioned the team to a halt. " I don't think we're going to find Dean, I'm not even sure he was ever here", Brass said. Turning to Brass, " No, Brass, Dean was definately in the house, I'd bet my career on it", Greg said. Just then the door opened from the inside, Brass and the team stepped back, guns at the ready.

As the door opened on the other side were the rest of LVPD. " Lower your weapons! Ok, this can't be good, Dean?, Brass questioned. One of the Officer's answered, " So far no sign Captain, the whole house is being searched room by room but no-one's gotten passed us and we've searched 80 so far. Doesn't look like he's here".

Disappointed, " Why doesn't that surprise me", Brass answered back, as he and Greg made their way to the front of the house to join Nick and Grissom. Greg also bewildered by Deans no show said, " He was here Jim, I know it".

" What do you mean Warrick? Why would he be going into Nick's office, helping Dean do this and looking like his dad".

" I'm just telling you what the image recognition showed up,Griss, and it says the man that looks like Paul Millander is his son. I never knew he had a son. And ALL of this is confusing, it's like they're throwing bit's of the jigsaw at us and none of the pieces fit! What's it all mean?!", Warrick said in frustration.

" Calm down Warrick, we need a clear head. I'm on my way over. I need to see this evidence". Grissom hung up and walked over to Nick.

Grissom made his way over to Nick and saw Brass and Greg coming out the front door. Nick shouted over to them, What are you doing here, where's Dean?". Walking down the steps towards them, Greg said back, " Not here. How else do I put it, done a Houdini?". Brass explained that Dean hadn't come passed them in the tunnel nor had the search team found him in the mansion, infact he had vanished.

" Sounds familiar. I've just had Warrick on the phone. Apparently the guy we thought was a resurrected Paul Millander, is infact his son, Michael, whom we never knew about. Warrick fitfully described the situation as a jigsaw to which we still don't have all the pieces to".

" You want to go back to the lab and figure this out don't you, and i'd say you want me to go to Desert palms?", Nick asked. Grissom nodded, I would, but your the supervisor". Smiling, " That I am and thankyou for the respect but I agree with you. Go back to the lab, keep me informed. Greg I want you stay here and process the secret room, Brass do what you can. Any one wants me i'll be at the Hospital. Grissom, take the video footage of what we have taped, the camer's covered the outside too, maybe we'll hit lucky with something", Nick ordered, then he and Grissom left the scene.

Looking back at the mansion, Greg thought out loud, " Dean, i hope you left me a clue, comin' to getcha man", and the scene, kit in one hand, flashlight in the other.

Catherine was sat on the gurney opposite Sara, who seemed to perk up alittle. " Hey Cath i never said thanks for keeping us alive, so thankyou", Sara said smiling. " You would've done the same kiddo. I'm just glad the nightmare is over and you're okay too", Catherine said back.Just then the ambulance hit a few bumps in the road which knocked Catherine back and she banged her head, " Ouch, not having much look today", she said.

" No you're not and it just ran out", said the EMT. Eyes shocked and glaring at the EMT, both Catherine and Sara said with a gasp, " Dean?". Just then, in 'Mission Impossible' style, the EMT grabbed himself under the chin and removed his face, " Hi ladies, time for the final chapter", Dean said standing in front of them, brandishing a gun out from his pocket.

" Just wait what i've got in store for you. Something I think your colleague, Mr. Stokes would have nightmares about", Dean said with an evil grin.

Nick arrived at the hospital, " Excuse me miss but have you had a Sara Sidle and Catherine Willows come in yet?". The lady checked her details and said, " No sir, no-one by those names". Frowning, " Ok. Erm can you check the details of the EMT's and their vehicle for me if I give you the details?", Nick asked.

Nodding she said, " Yes I can, go ahead". Nick gave her the details and waited for the computer to do it's search. " Are you sure you're right on the vehcile details?", she asked. Nick leaned over the counter, " Yeah, why?". Pointing to the screen, she explained, " Because according to this, that ambulance is off the road for servicing and your EMT's both have holidays this week".

" Thankyou", Nick said and exited the hospital as he called Brass, " Jim we have a major problem. Cath and Sara never made it to the hospital, I think Dean has them. Get an APB out for the ambulance.


	14. Chapter 14

The Final Chapter.

As the ambulance came to a stop, Dean opened the rear door and ordered Catherine and Sara to get out. Catherine helped Sara up off the gurney and out of the ambulance as she followed behind.

" Ok ladies, hands on the top of your heads and start walking forwards", Dean motioned them forwards with his gun. Sara was visibly struggling to get her right arm up any higher than chest level. " Sara, please put your good hand on your head only. I'm not total ogre, I can't see you being too much of a threat", Dean said.

Looking around they could see the vastness of the desert, as Catherine looked around she could make out a small track going off to the right but nothing else but desert sand. " Up and over that hill ladies, then you can have as much rest as you like", Dean sniggered. Behind them follwed Michael, who so far hadn't uttered a word. He was carrying a small holdall with him, Catherine had noticed, wondering what was inside it and now also wondering what awaited them over the brow of the hill.

Nick wandered over to the receptionist again, " Ma'am, is there any way we can find out where that ambulance is, a tracker maybe?", he asked. The receptionist nodded, " Yes all our vehicles have trackers in them, if you go to operations they should be able to track it for you", she helped.

Turning, Nick thanked her and made his way to operations.

Grissom had got back to the lab and headed straight to Archie. " Archie, i want you to go through these tapes. Pay particular attention to the outside activity only, then run each face through image recognition", he asked him.

At that moment Warrick walked in, " Hey Griss, i've been trying to work a link between all of us, Dean and Michael and i think i've found it or at least i think i have". Just as Grissom was about to speak, his cell phone rang.

" Griss, it's Nick. Dean has Sara and Catherine. The ambulance they went in wasn't meant to be on the road this week and the name tags on the EMT's turn out to be two paramedics on holiday. I think they were Dean and Michael made up. I have Brass doing a search for the ambulance now. We have a location to within 5 miles of them from the vehicle tracker-it's the desert", he explained.

" Nick where are you, I'm on my way", Grissom said as Nick cut him off. " No, i want you there with Warrick. I need you to figure out what all this is about. When we find Dean, we're gonna need all the info we have of the situation, at the moment we're in no man's land. And Griss, that's an order, you stay their and don't come out here until you find something or i call you, you got that man?".

Sighing, Grissom agreed, " I will Nick, but if something happens you call me, and, Nick, keep Sara safe for me". Grissom hung up and filled Warrick in and began to work on the case at hand, listening to Warrick's findings.

Catherine and Sara felt like they had been walking for miles, but infact it wasn't that far from the vehicle. Catherine figured it was their bodies slowly getting more and more tired after what they had been put through. As they reached the top of the hill, they looked and saw a white sheet being held down at the corners by stones.

" Michael, go in front and take centre stage. Ladies, down the hill you go", Dean said. Michael began to take the stones away and peel back the white sheet. Catherine and Sara reached the bottom and came to a halt, when they saw a large hole.

" Mr.Stokes would have nightmares?, what are gonna do Dean, bury us?!", Catherine said in horror. Sara just stared at the hole.

Dean was smiling, " Sara...like the spot? I apologise i couldn't find a car in time for you. That would have been a great situation for me- to do that to you but Miss Davis beat me to it", Dean teased, who had placed the hole in the exact same spot Natalie had put Sara under the car.

Looking up after Dean caught her attention with the car, Sara asked, " What do you know about Natalie Davis?". The mention of Natalie's name brought back not so fond memories of her time at the hands of psycho Natalie.

" Only what I read in the papers, gossip, what she told me", Dean answered. Catherine and Sara both processed what Dean had just said. Had he spoken to Natalie? And if so when or even why? Before they could ask Michael ushered them forwards, toward the edge of the hole.

" So, you're going to bury us alive then", Catherine asked. Michael jumped into the hole and struggle to lift the lid off the box. When he did, Catherine and Sara saw what Dean had in store for them. Not only was he going to bury them but he had rigged the wooden box with more than one way for them to die, that would depend on how long they were in the box for. The wooden lid of the box had a series of spikes about 5 inches long, dotted about it. Dean explained that the spikes would only protrude through the lid and onto them when the weight of the dirt reached a certain level. The bottom of the box was layered with a kind of foam base. " Ok, so if we don't get spiked or simply suffocate to death then how else do we die, you said 'more than one way'?", Catherine stated.

" Again it all depends on the amount of pressure the earth provides. The foam is 8 inches thick, below that is a thin layer of acid, but more than enough to soak through slowly to 'melt' you. Admittedly the spikes will probably get to you first. Hmm just one more thing...Michael, if you would". Michael disappeared behind a hill.

" Dean, why are being so sadistic, acid? spikes?, What in gods name have any of us done to you? You think Jim is to blame for you losing your job with LVPD and you blame me for choosing him over you, but thats no excuse for any of this. And why drag Sara into all this, she doesn't even know you!" Catherine exclaimed.

" That is true, assuming this hasn't changed, as far as i know the worst kind of criminal is that who simply does the crime for no apparent reason-thy're must dangerous and erratic of them all. Well that's us, we simply just wanted revenge and some fun along the way. It may not seem much to you but i lost everything because of you, Jim, everyone at LVPD, what goes around, comes around", Dean explained.

" You're crazy, totally crazy", Sara said in a low voice. Smiling, " Maybe", Dean answered as Michael came up and over the hill he'd disappeared behind. This time though in transport, a large truck to be exact. Michael stepped out once he had carefully positioned the back end of the truck to the edge of the hole.

" I'm going to concrete you in", Dean grinned. Catherine and Sara just looked in disbelief. " How the hell are we gonna get out of this one", Catherine thought to herself.

" Ok, so i went through as much of the information i could relating to us, any case's we have in common, and the suspects involved. Nothing. But, Dean was 'Sacked' because of Jim's turn on the stand, Dean came into contact with Michael Millander in his short stint in prison before he made a deal with the state and got early release. You, came into contact with Micheal's father-Paul Millander, until he killed himself. Michael came out of prison two years ago and dropped of the face of the earth, but it turns out he was Dean's gardener and odd job guy. Catherine dated Dean for a couple months last year, not knowing who he was, but Dean two-timed her, that was the end of that and she and Jim got it together. Now according to Jim, Dean got wind of this and tried to cause trouble. You still with me?". Warricked asked Grissom who was listening deeply. Grissom nodded his head, " Continue".

" So, we have one guy that hates LVPD and Jim and Catherine in particular, and another that i think Dean has manipulated into hating you for 'killing' his father. Knowing how much Catherine means Jim and Sara to you, they literally tore out the heart of CSI/LVPD. He knows how we work and knows the proceedures. Michael is an artist just like Paul was, he's inherited that much along with the psycho disposition. Dean's used Michael's talent against us and it's been working. This whole case has no specific reason but a whole load of possiblities as to the why, there is no continuity. Personally, i don't think he has a reason, he'll call it revenge but i just think this nut 'wanted' to do it, because he can", Warrick finished.

Grissom was silent for a moment, processing what Warrick had explained, when Archie bundled in. " A guy dress as a cop, coming out of the house shortly after Catherine and Sara got out- it's Dean, i can confirm it", he said.

" Ok, thankyou Archie. Warrick i agree with everything you said but there's still a missing piece to this jigsaw. Lets find it", Grissom said.

Nick was with Brass and Greg, whom he had pulled off processing the mansion to help lok for Sara and Catherine, When his Cell Phone started ringing. He looked at the number but didn't notice it, " Nick Stokes", he answered.

Pointing to the whole, Dean said, " Get in!". Catherine and Sara didn't move. " I said get in!". Dean started to lose patience. Just then Sara mcaught Catherine's eye and looked at Dean's pocket then back to her. Dean had a Cellphone in his pocket. Catching on to what Sara was thinking once again, Catheriene lunged at Dean, followed by Sara who was follwed by Dean. They struggled for nearly a minute, before Michael threw Sara into the whole, this caught Catherine off guard and Dean smacked her square acroos the jaw, which sent her sprawling into the hole, on top of Sara in the box

Dean closed the box lid fast and he and Michael began shovelling the dirt on top of them fast. Catherine came too, " I got the Cell Phone, let's hope we can keep a signal long enough". Sara told her to phone Nick, she knew he was one person that could relate to the situation and keep a cool head, Jim and Grissom may just be too emotionally involved.

" Catherine! Catherine where are you? It's a really bad line, Catherie, Sara?", Nicked shouted down the phone. The line kept cuttin in and out but Nick could make out certain words.

" It's me, we're...in...box...Dean has bury...desert, Sara...s...kidna...natalie, hurry, we don't...", Catherine was trying to explained.

" I gotta location Brass, they're in the desert, where Natalie had Sara...Dean's Buried them", Nick said. Nick's face was white as he said it and Brass floored the accelerator.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15.

Minutes had passed when the sound of scraping had stopped.

" You think that means they finished putting the dirt on top of us?", Sara asked Catherine, who was laid next to her.

" Well i'm pretty sure it's not a good sign, I guess when we hear the sound of the truck, then that'll mean the concrete is going on top of us and then we have a real problem", Catherine told Sara. " You think this is what it felt like for Nick?".

Sara was silent for a moment before she answered, " Nick was by himself in a perspex coffin, with no way of contacting the outside world. Catherine he went to hell and back more than once. We have eachother and a chance, we know that, Nick had none of that. And if worst comes play-we don't die alone".

Catherine processed what Sara had just said and thought that she and Nick must have spoken about his ordeal in depth with eachother.

" You and Nick, you're pretty close huh?", Catherine asked.

" We connected I guess, when I first started we had most of our cases together and we gelled. He was always there for me and me for him. We can talk to eachother, we're close that's all. Not to mention the fact we've both been kidnapped, left in precarious positions to die and been close to death", Sara said with a tiny smile.

" Slightly more comfortable than having a mustang on top of though-I would imagine. Are you ok? I mean I know neither of us are but, all this, what Dean said about Natalie, you ok?", Catherine asked.

" Well it's warmer and at the moment, drier than the mustang", Sara light heartedly answered, " Dean implying that he'd spoken to Natalie freaked me out a little and once again i'm in mortal peril, but hey it beats doing a boring 9 to 5 job".

" Yeah well we're gonna have to think up something fast, because I don't think we have long before the concrete us in", Said Catherine.

" Well, I kinda wish i was laid next Mcgyver right now-no offence", Sara joked.

" None taken. Sara, can you hear scraping as though they're digging us back up?", Catherine asked. Sara listened intently, she could here a scraping, she thought.

Brass, Nick and Greg we're about 2 miles out from the spot where Sara was trapped under the car. They approached silently, a convoy of Police cars behind them.

" Why does something niggle at me, that this isn't going to be as straight forward as it should be. I mean Dean's buried them and we know where they are and we're riding to the rescue, so what's the catch, you know. Everytime we tried to help them in the house, Dean just put them through some other ordeal, he's got to have anticipated us finding them", Greg thought out loud.

" Dean doesn't know we've had contact with them, as far as he's concerned we've just found there location, we have a slight edge in knowing what to expect. We can be ready", Nick replied to Greg.

" I guess. It just makes me nervous that's all and come to think of it, being back here in the desert searching for Sara, again, well that just brings back bad memories", Greg told Nick.

" When you two have finished talking about bad memories, we're nearing the site in just a few moments", Brass spoke up. He had been fairly quiet through the whole journey. Nick hadn't wanted to bring the subject of Ellie up, but it was obvious that the seasoned cop was hurting, at the moment the mission of finding Catherine and Sara unharmed was the only thing keeping him from breaking down, Nick thought.

They reached the point where Sara was kidnapped originally months ago. They got out of the car and began to search the area. As they looked for the obvious signs of disturbance on the ground, Greg climbed a small hill.

" Hey overhere!", Greg instructed the others as he saw a mound of dirt and sprinted towards it. " Sara! Catherine! It's Greg, we're here, can you here me?!", he shouted.

Thre was no answer as they dug frantically at the dirt with there hands. They got closer and closer but there still no sound from below. Just then Nick hit something hard and started sweeping the area with his hands.

" Hey, hang on in there, we gotcha", he shouted. Nick exposed part of a wooden box and the others helped. Brass fetched a crowbar to lever the top off. As he did, Nick and Greg prized it off with their hands.

" Oh god! I'm gonna be sick", Greg jumped out of the hole and wretched at the side. Sara and Catherine lay side by side, covered in blood, their throats had been cut.

" No,no,no, Sara...Cath", Nick uttered then screamed out loud in anger and frustration. Brass stood in shock staring down at his fallen colleagues and partner.

Grissom's Cell rang, " Nick, what you got?", he said. Grissom's face drained of colour, as he dropped the phone and ran out the door. Warrick picked up the phone and went after him.

" Nick it's Warrick, what's happend?", he asked as he made his way to Grissom who was heading for a Denali.

Nick just sat at the edge of the grave and stared down, unable to take his eyes off the horror before him. They were wrapped from the chest down in thick sheets like mummies, crimson red staining the white. Tears began to flow freely down his face. Greg came over, now he had stopped throwing up.

" Sorry", he said as he sat next to Nick. Brass had walked off back to the car, unable to speak.

" Hey man, don't be. We couldn't save them Greg, I...", Nick totally broke down, unable to finish his words. Without a second thought, Greg pulled him into a comforting hug, only just managing to control his feelings.

An engine roared in the background and the sound of doors slammed. Grissom had driven there in record time. He and Warrick sprinted over to them.

They came to a grinding halt when they saw the horror in front of them.

" Grissom...", Nick tried to speak.

Grissom got in the hole, trying not to stand on Sara or Catherine. He gently touched Sara's cheek, then Catherine's.

" Sara...", he managed to squeeze out.

Warrick bent down and began to take a closer look. He moved Catherine's hair from her neck line upwards. " Grissom,move out", he asked. Grissom did and Warrick took his place, took out his pen knife and started to cut into the sheets.

" What the hell are doing Warrick! This is a crime scene, and that's Catherine!", Grissom shouted at the Csi. Warrick tore open the sheets to reveal Catherine's body.

" That's not Cath!", Warrick shouted back. As they all looked down at the body they could tell that unless Catherine had put on a stone in weight since the last time they saw her, then the body that looked like her, wasn't her. Warrick pointed to the neckline and noticed something a little off. He tugged at it gently and slowly started to peel back the skin.

" It's ot them guys, it's not Catherine and that isn't Sara. Dean's playing us again, like he has been from the beginning", Warrick said with relief.

Grissom was peeled back "Sara's" face. " Thankgod. Ok so this is Michael's work, he's certainly nore advance than his father. So where are they? I thought this was where Catherine said their location was", Grissom asked Nick.

" So did I. It was a bad line, I could make out bits and one bit was the location of where Sara was kidnapped", Nick answered back.

Greg interjected, " They must be close, Catherine wouldn't give us duff information. Hey, Brass doesn't know that's not them yet!".

Grissom went over to Jim. " Jim, it's not them, they had face masks on, made by Michael Millander. Jim they're still out there-alive". Brass was unable to speak, his eyes teary, he nodded, taking a deep breath of relief.

" I guess that was the concrete then. How much time do you think we have now then, you know the spikes and all", Sara asked Catherine.

Looking around the wooden box, Catherine replied, " Not long. We're in trouble, let's hope the guys figure this out and soon".


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16.

Brass had his team widening the search area. Nick was talking to Warrick, whilst Greg and Grissom were looking at the bodies in the box.

" Scary huh? I really thought we'd lost them Grissom, I don't think I've ever felt that sick before", Greg told Grissom. Grissom looked at the younger Csi. He knew that for a long while Greg had had a crush on Sara, possibly still now, but he cared for her.

" Well they aren't. Sara and Catherine and now we have to focus on finding them. We need to keep that clear Greg", Grissom told him.

" Trust me, it's crystal clear", Greg reassured him and himself.

Concrete seeped into every part of the hole and began to sink onto the box. Dean and Michael were gently smoothing it off then scattered sand onto the surface.

" It's gone quiet. I don't like quiet, that's always a bad sign. And I'm not enjoying it being in here", Sara sounded.

" Sara are you ok?", Catherine asked. Sara was a little fidgity and agitated.

" Brings back bad memories that's all. Ok, so I'm in a box, not under a car, but I'm still in the desert and being left for dead by some psycho. Story of my life", Sara said as she gave a little giggle after.

" Well I hope you're not going to fall to bits on me Sidle, that I don't need. Two sharp women are better than one, remember?", Catherine sternly said.

" Yeah I remember", Sara smiled.

Looking around the box as best they could, Sara noticed a bobble effect on the ceiling of the box and nudge Catherine to look up.

" You think they're the spikes starting to show through?", Sara asked.

" Could be, more than likely. It's when when they shoot through, that's when I'll start getting worried. I don't know what I'm looking forward to most, being impaled or having an acid scrub", Catherine thought out loud.

Nick and Warrick were with the cops and made there way over the brow of a hill. Warrick scanned the area, when something caught his eye to the left.

" Nick, there, I see tyre tracks going over that other hill", Warrick pointed. Nick began to run in the direction of the tyre tracks, which surprised Warrick who sprinted after him.

" Hey man slow down, Nick!", Warrick said as he caught up with his collegue.

" We can't hang back Warrick, they don't have time. Trust me they don't wanna be underground for long. I can't have them in that position, they're my team", Nick explained.

" It's not you in that box Nick, and Dean won't make this easy. You gotta pull back and think a moment man. This is different", Warrick tried to explain to Nick as best he could. He knew this would affect Nick and it wasn't easy for him either. This was the second time he'd have to rescue someone he cared for from being buried alive.

" I know Warrick but a moment is something don't have", Nick answered then set off towards and over the hill. Warrick carried on after him.

Dean and Michael started the cement truck and began to move out of the area. Nick and Warrick heard the grumble of an engine and sprinted faster and over the hill. They saw the truck head towards them.

" I don't think they plan on stopping...Nick, Nick!", Warrick shouted whilst backing off, but Nick stood his ground and drew his gun.

" Well I plan on stopping them", he said to himself.

The truck carried forward as Nick raised his gun and aimed it at the truck. Brass, Grissom and Greg caught up with them and stood on the brow of the hill.

" So we're just gonna stand here and watch?! Guys, guys, teamwork!", Greg shouted as he he stood to the right of Nick, gun drawn also. The others looked at eachother and then joined them. Nick, Greg, Warrick, Grissom, Brass and several other cops stood in line on the hill with their guns drawn.

" Hold the line. Dean either stops himself or we stop him", Nick ordered. The truck grew closer and closer. Dean slammed on the brakes and waited in the truck. Michael leaned out the truck and aimed a gun at the team. As the team braced themselves, Dean climbed out of the truck and stood on the hood.

" Well, gentlemen, it appears we have a stand off", he shouted to them.

" Catherine, how's your ass?", Sara asked mischieviously.

" Sore, as is the rest of my body and just because we're stuck in a box, underground, with no apparent escape and with the thought of an excruciating death facing us...Sara, it doesn't mean you can cheeky to me", Catherine joked back. " We need to find a way out of here. The longer we leave it, the worse off we're gonna be. Any idea's?".

Sara took yet another look around the area they were in and shrugged, " Well put it this way, when I was under that car, the one thing that struck me was I was going to die if I stayed where I was so I say lets dig ourselves out", she said.

" The only problem with that is we create more pressure both below us and above us. What if the spikes come down whilst we're digging?", Catherine offered.

" Like I said, we're gonna die anyway. I'd sooner die trying if that's what's going to happen", Sara said.

" Dean, I think you should step down and tell us where Catherine and Sara are. You're out numbered with no where to go, give it up", Brass shouted across.

" I always have somewhere to go Jim, just like everyone else outthere tonight. Oh, um, pardon me, everyone except poor Catherine and Sara. Did you like my little heart stopper waiting for you in the other grave?", Dean sniggered.

Nick cocked his gun, " Dean, you have no choice, give it up now!", he said.

Dean began to fumble in his jacket pocket and pulled out a hand grenade. The team watched as he lifted his arms up over his head and and held the grenade in one hand and his other hand over the pin.

" Well now, gentlemen, you don't want to push me because I will pull the pin. Which you probaly think wouldn't be a bad thing but your Csi colleagues are below ground, just over the hill behind me, in a pressure sensitive box. The force of the explosion could...well let's just say they'd get the point", Dean explained then began to laugh.

The team looked at eachother, what did Dean mean by that, their puzzled looks said. Greg moved closer to Nick and spoke quietly in his ear.

" Dean's buying for time, which in my opinion means that he doesn't intend us to find Sara & Catherine alive. If they are over that hill, we're moments away from helping them. Nick, he's been pulling our strings from the get go, now it's time to cut them", Greg pleaded.

Catherine had been punching away at the ceiling of the box for several minutes to no avail. As she laid back down she noticed Sara had gone quiet or more quiet, she'd already noticed that she didn't last long punching the box.

" Hey Sara, you're not giving up on me are ya?", she asked.

Sara turned to Catherine, " Not yet, I just feel a little tired. Sorry", she said.

" Don't apologise sweetie, just stay with me ok, don't even think about going to sleep, you got that?", Catherine said in a slightly stern tone. Sara nodded in agreement.

The box started to creek, at that moment a spike shot through the top and stuck between Catherine's legs.

" Whoa! That was close. We really need to get out of here, I think the concrete is setting fast!", she said.

" I agree, that spike looks more painful than a fork", Sara said mischievously. Catherine gave her a look, as if to say " Don't push your luck" then smiled, just glad that Sara was still fit enough to crack jokes.

Dean shouted across to Brass, " So Jim, what will it be, you gonna shoot me. Your daughter's already dead, why not go for the double and kill your other girl too!".

" You really want me to shoot you Dean?", Brass shouted back.

" You haven't got the guts Jim", he replied back.

" Really?", Brass aimed and fired his gun at the truck's tyre. As he did the truck went down on one side and Michael immediately fired back. All the team fired their weapons. Michael took a hit and slouched out the window of the truck.

Dean stood his ground, unphased by the gunfire. The team held their fire and waited for Dean to say something.

" Time to be with your daughter Jim", Dean said as he went to pull the pin out of the grenade. Brass fired and hit Dean with a precision headshot, as he slumped to the floor, the grenade bounced of the cab into the sand in front of him.

" Did he pull the pin?!" Warrick asked.

" I don't know!", Nick said as Grissom sprinted forwards, " Grissom! Don't!", he shouted.

Grissom had barely got down the hill when an explosion knocked the entire team off their feet.

" That's a yes then", Greg commented.

Almost in time with eachother, after hauling themselves back to their feet,slighty dazed, the whole team got up and ran over the hill towards Catherine and Sara's position.

" Catherine! Catherine!", Sara shouted at her.

" I'm ok, it's ok. Sara I'm ok, ok,", Catherine tried to sound strong as she applied pressure to her thigh where a spike had gone clean through.

" What do you suppose that explosion was?" Sara asked.

" No idea, but it just added to our predicament", Catherine replied.

The team reached their location and immediatey started to scrape the cement off with the shovels the uniforms brought with them as they made their rescue attempt.

" Sara! Cath!", Grissom and Nick both shouted.

Sara and Catherine both looked at eachother then shouted, " Grissom! Nick!, Get off the box! It's pressure sensitive, spikes will impale us!".

" We're not on the box,we're scraping the topping off to relieve the pressure. Are you two ok?", Grissom shouted back.

" We're not as good as before this happened, Catherine has a spike through her thigh", Sara answered.

" Listened guys, when you get through the box, just rip the top off and drag us out, we're lying on a bed of sponge that's soaking up acid, much longer and we'll feel the burn-get it. Forget about the spike in my thigh, just take the damn top off and get us the hell outta here!", Catherine shouted back.

The team worked furiously to get to the box, fives minutes passed and they were finally rid of the concrete. They worked at the dirt and sand like men on a mission. But paused when they heard panic.

" Guys it's getting damp in here! Get us out! Do anything, just get us out!", Catherine and Sara screamed in panic.

" Hold on!" the whole team shouted back. Warrick and Nick leaned over the box from the edges of the hole while Grissom Greg and Brass held onto them to stopped them from falling in and possibly killing the girls.

They had moved enough dirt to be able to get their hands to the box, as they both got a grip on the box lid they gave it wrench each. The lid moved slightly.

" Again!", Warrick shouted. They yanked at it several times.

Catherine had her eyes shut tight to shut out the pain of the spike in her thigh. Each time they tugged on the lid, the spiked came out of her thigh bit by bit.

" Hold on Cath", Sara said as she held her hand.

Just then dirt fell onto them and daylight poured in on them, hurting their eyes.

" Need a hand ladies?", Nick asked.

" Just get us out!", Catherine and Sara screamed at him.

Warrick grabbed Catherine and passed her to Jim and Nick got Sara then passed her to Grissom as they got out of the hole.

Catherine and Sara both lay in their partners arm's. " So, you miss me?", Catherine asked Jim, " Every second. Just lay still and enjoy the sunshine", Jim told her whilst holding her in his lap.

Grissom, cupped Sara's cheek as she too laid on him for support, " I love you Mrs.Grissom", he said to her. Smiling and planting a small kiss on his lips, Sara replied, " You make me happy", she said with a wink.

Nick, Warrick and Greg looked on at their colleagues. " You know I'm kinda feeling-single. How come we can't find romance?", Greg asked. Nick and Warrick looked at him then at eachother then back to again and shrugged, " We're picky" Nick said.

The paramedics had made their way to the team and began to tend to Catherine and Sara. Brass and Grissom backed away for room and stood with the younger Csi's.

" I am, I have to", Sara said to Catherine.

" Sara Sidle, you dare and I will...", Catherine warned her.

" It's Sara Grissom, and I have too", Sara said wickedly.

Greg turned when he heard his name being shouted. " Greg! You're gonna love this one", Sara shouted.

Catherine shuddered, "Sara!!!".

THE END.


End file.
